Syllabus for EDL-510

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The Inquiry Process: A Framework introduce students to action research. Future educational leaders will study an intervention chosen specifically to respond to a research problem identified through reflection. The goal of the course and of action research is for students to gain better knowledge of their practice while improving the situation in which the practice is conducted. Students will develop competencies as an educational leader as outlined in the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC 1, 2, 3, 4) and New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE 1, 2, 3, 4) standards.

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COURSE OBJECTIVES

Educational leaders must identify problems in their professional situation, gather and analyze preliminary and intervention data (following institutional guidelines and procedures for protecting participants), implement their plan and intervention, analyze and evaluate the results of their plan, and make recommendations for future practice. On successfully completing the course, you should be able to:

• Identify, define, and clarify a problem of educational leadership practice.



• Select or design preliminary data.



• Design data collection instruments, as appropriate.



• Research and investigate underlying causes of the identified problem.



• Complete a review of related professional literature.



• Compare and contrast possible interventions suggested in the related literature.



• Select an intervention to implement and develop a timeline for implementation.



• Decide types of data to collect during the intervention in order to triangulate results.



• Analyze and evaluate intervention data using triangulation procedures.



• Reflect on and report the intervention data.



• Draw conclusions and make suggestions for future practice.



• Serve as a critical colleague.



• Prepare a written document in APA 5th edition format.

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KEY ISSUES AND ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS

The key issues and essential questions in this course focus on developing as a reflective practitioner as well as on how to design and implement an effective inquiry-based learning project that will inform and improve practice.

• What is the reflective practitioner and what is the role of reflection in action research?



• What different types of reflection can be used throughout the research process?



• What is the process of articulating action-oriented and outcome-based questions?



• What are key issues and dilemmas in conducting action research?



• How does choosing relevant literature to review guide and inform the study?



• What are methodological and ethical issues involved in research?



• What forms of data collection establish credibility and validity?



• What are the future plans based on results and conclusions that inform and improve practice?

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COURSE MATERIALS

The following materials are required to do the work of the course. The required textbooks are available from the College's textbook supplier, MBS Direct. The required journal articles are available online in electronic versions.

Required Textbooks

Hendricks, C. (2009). Improving schools through action research: A comprehensive guide for educators. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Merrill.

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

Balch, B. V., Frampton, P. M., & Hirth, M. A. (2006). Preparing a professional portfolio: A school administrator's guide. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Electronic Portfolio Registration
As a capstone experience in the Educational Leadership program, you will prepare an electronic portfolio that demonstrates your incremental achievement of the program standards. Each course in the program helps you to identify artifacts to place in your portfolio on completion of the course. To this end, you are required to purchase an electronic portfolio registration code upon your entry into the Master of Arts in Educational Leadership program. Basic directions for purchasing access to and using your electronic portfolio are posted within the Educational Leadership Students Organization (online community).

Journal Articles

Glanz, J. (2005, June). Action research as instructional supervision: Suggestions for principals [Electronic version for authorized users]. NASSP Bulletin, 89, 17–27.

Note: Electronic access to this article is available through the OmniFile Full Text Select database to all students with a valid New Jersey State Library card. As a Thomas Edison State College student, you may register for a free library card and other online services at the New Jersey State Library Information Center (see http://slic.njstatelib.org/Services_TESC.php).

Maulding, W., & Styron, R. A. (2005). Restructuring an educational leadership program using action research [Electronic version]. AASA Journal of Scholarship and Practice, 1, 8–12.

Rearick, M. L., & Feldman, A. (1998). Orientations, purposes, and reflection: A framework for understanding action research [Electronic version]. Teaching and Teacher Education, 15, 333–349.

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COURSE STRUCTURE

The Inquiry Process—A Framework is a three-credit, graduate course, consisting of eight instructional modules:

Each module, in turn, comprises learning objectives and a list of key issues and essential questions; a study assignment (with prereading questions and a reading assignment); online discussions on the class Discussion Board (both a Getting Started discussion and a module Discussion Forum); learning journal activities geared toward developing and implementing your action research project; and reflection assignments.

The primary goal of this course is to help you develop and implement an action research project. All activities, readings, postings, and reflections are designed to prepare you for this project.

As part of the course you will maintain a learning journal for posting reflections and submitting papers. The journal (see the My Learning Journal area of the course Web site) serves as a central location for posting reflections, attaching papers, and recording thoughts, notes, responses, questions, observations, etc.—in short, anything associated with the learning experiences of the class. Items submitted to the learning journal may serve as artifacts for your e-folio, and reflections recorded in the learning journal for later synthesis may become part of your e-folio's reflective narrative.

For the course's eight instructional modules, go to the Course Content area of the course Web site. (See also the course Calendar.)

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ONLINE DISCUSSIONS

Each module in the course has two online discussion activities: an initial forum titled Getting Started and a subsequent Discussion Forum. All discussion activities take place asynchronously on the class Discussion Board.

Online discussions provide an opportunity for you to interact with your classmates. During this aspect of the course, you respond to prompts that assist you in developing your ideas, you share those ideas with your classmates, and you comment on their posts. Discussion board interactions promote development of a community of learners, critical thinking, and exploratory learning. Please participate in online discussions as you would in constructive face-to-face discussions and be professional and courteous.

Click link for Evaluation Rubrics.

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REFLECTION ASSIGNMENTS

Reflection assignments give you an opportunity to think about a particular concept in terms of your action research process, your attitudes, and your perceptions of your experience. Your reflections on your progress through your action research project also assist you in writing your portfolio artifact reflection.

At the end of the course, you will refer back to your reflections as you develop your portfolio narrative for your e-folio. Your portfolio narrative will chronicle your journey through part of or through the entire action research project and will provide documentation and support for your artifact.

Reflection assignments are posted to your personal discussion board in My Learning Journal.

Click link for an Evaluation Rubric.

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ACTION RESEARCH PROJECT

As stated earlier, the primary goal of the course is to help you develop and implement an action research project. As you progress through the course, you complete components of your project and post them as file attachments in My Learning Journal, using the File Exchange function. For the final module, you synthesize the elements to produce the final project.

Click link for an Evaluation Rubric.

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PORTFOLIO ARTIFACT AND REFLECTIVE NARRATIVE

The artifact for this course is your action research project or a part of it that you select to place in your e-folio. Accompanying the artifact is a reflective narrative describing how this project meets the course standards and prepares you for school leadership. As you develop your narrative to accompany your artifact, refer back to the reflections you wrote for your learning journal.

Place your artifacts in the Artifacts area of your e-folio. You can also link your artifacts (designated as "Work") to ISLLC standards listed in the Resources area of the e-folio. Keep your work in "draft" or "ready for feedback" status for now.

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GRADING AND EVALUATION

Your grade in the course will be determined as follows:

To receive credit for the course, you must earn a letter grade of C or higher on the weighted average of all assigned course work (e.g., written assignments, discussion postings, papers, etc.). You will receive a score of 0 for any work not submitted. (Note: Graduate students must maintain a B average to remain in good academic standing.)

Letter grades and their numerical equivalents are as follows:

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ACADEMIC INTEGRITY

Thomas Edison State College expects all of its students to approach their education with academic integrity—the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception. All mentors and administrative staff members at the College insist on strict standards of academic honesty in all courses. Academic dishonesty undermines this objective. Academic dishonesty takes the following forms:

• Cheating
• Plagiarizing (including copying and pasting from the Internet without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources)
• Fabricating information or citations
• Facilitating acts of dishonesty by others
• Unauthorized access to examinations or the use of unauthorized materials during exam administration
• Submitting the work of another person or work previously used without informing the mentor
• Tampering with the academic work of other students

Academic dishonesty will result in disciplinary action and possible dismissal from the College. Students who submit papers that are found to be plagiarized will receive an F on the plagiarized assignment, may receive a grade of F for the course, and may face dismissal from the College.

A student who is charged with academic dishonesty will be given oral or written notice of the charge. If a mentor or College official believes the infraction is serious enough to warrant referral of the case to the academic dean, or if the mentor awards a final grade of F in the course because of the infraction, the student and the mentor will be afforded formal due process.

If a student is found cheating or using unauthorized materials on an examination, he or she will automatically receive a grade of F on that examination. Students who believe they have been falsely accused of academic dishonesty should seek redress through informal discussions with the mentor, through the office of the dean, or through an executive officer of Thomas Edison State College.

Plagiarism
Using someone else's work as your own is plagiarism. Although it may seem like simple dishonesty, plagiarism is against the law. Thomas Edison State College takes a strong stance against plagiarism, and students found to be plagiarizing will be severely penalized. If you copy phrases, sentences, paragraphs, or whole documents word-for-word—or if you paraphrase by changing a word here and there—without identifying the author, then you are plagiarizing. Please keep in mind that this type of identification applies to Internet sources as well as to print-based sources. Copying and pasting from the Internet, without using quotation marks and without acknowledging sources, constitutes plagiarism. (For information about how to cite Internet sources, see Graduate Online Student Handbook > Academic Standards > "Citing Sources.")

Accidentally copying the words and ideas of another writer does not excuse the charge of plagiarism. It is easy to jot down notes and ideas from many sources and then write your own paper without knowing which words are your own and which are someone else's. It is more difficult to keep track of each and every source. However, the conscientious writer who wishes to avoid plagiarizing never fails to keep careful track of sources.

Always be aware that if you write without acknowledging the sources of your ideas, you run the risk of being charged with plagiarism.

Clearly, plagiarism, no matter the degree of intent to deceive, defeats the purpose of education. If you plagiarize deliberately, you are not educating yourself, and you are wasting your time on courses meant to improve your skills. If you plagiarize through carelessness, you are deceiving yourself.

For examples of unintentional plagiarism and advice on when to quote and when to paraphrase, click the links provided below.

Examples of Unintentional Plagiarism

When to Quote and When to Paraphrase

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SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

Bray, J. N., Lee, J., Smith, L. L., & Yorks, L. (2000). Collaborative inquiry in practice: Action, reflection, and making meaning. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.

Compares action research to other types of inquiry methods. Lays the theoretical foundation for the use of human experiences.

Burnaford, G. E., Fischer, J., & Hobson, D. (Eds.) (2001). Teachers doing research: The power of action through inquiry (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Contributions from a variety of authors are presented as case studies. A variety of levels of content areas and grade levels are included. Contains comprehensive section on types of research questions.

Calhoun, E. (1994). How to use action research in the self-renewing school. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.

A foundational text outlining the process of action research with a definite focus on its application to schools.

Cochran-Smith, M., & Lytle, S. L. (1990). Research on teaching and teacher research: The issues that divide. Educational Researcher, 19(2) 2–11.

This article promotes the teacher researcher movement. It gives voice to the advantages of practitioners communicating with other practitioners with the goal of improving practice.

Coghlan, D., & Brannick, T. (2004). Doing action research in your own organization (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

This book discusses strategies for conducting research within your own organization. It chronicles the procedure for permanent members of an organization to conduct research as "insiders."

Dewey, J. (1938). Logic: The theory of inquiry. New York: Holt.

A foundational text detailing the relevance and importance of narrative inquiry.

Friere, P. (1973). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Seabury.

This book presents a rationale for a critical pedagogy and the practice of turning experience into learning.

Glanz, J. (2003). Action research: An educational leader's guide to school improvement (2nd ed.). Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon Publishers.

The book covers the evolution of action research. Throughout the book are helpful exercises to rehearse the content of the chapter. Focus questions at the beginning of each chapter point the reader to key concepts.

McNiff, J., & Whitehead, J. (2002). Action research: Principles and practice (2nd ed.). London: Falmer Press.

Key theorists in action research are discussed. Practical issues such as ethics, realistic timelines, the need to concentrate on learning, and the importance of outcomes are detailed. Good explanation of implications for the significance of the research in the workplace, personal and professional practice, and the potential for education theory to result.

Marzano, R. J. (2003). What works in schools: Translating research into action. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.

This book synthesizes the research over the last 35 years and provides insight into schooling. The book is divided into three sections and describes school-level factors, teacher-level factors, and student-level factors. In the appendix there is a self-administering survey of effectiveness factors.

Mills, G. E. (2003). Action research: A guide for the teacher research. Columbus, OH: Merrill Prentice Hall.

Comprehensive and user friendly text chronicling a project including deciding on a topic, data collection, analysis, interpretation, and application. Each section presents a sample case study. A chapter explains multiple examples of displaying data visually.

Reason, P. W., & Bradbury, H. (Eds.) (2001). Handbook of action research: Participative inquiry and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Sixty authors have contributed to this handbook. Each specialist explains the way action research aligns with their particular interest. The large volume offers multiple case studies as examples. Chapter 8 explores the relevance of critical theory for action research.

Sagor, R. (2000). Guiding school improvement with action research. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development.

The premise of this book is that school is and could be an exciting place to learn and teach. The book advocates a hopeful climate and culture of collaborative research, involving a seven-step action research procedure.

Sagor, R. (2004). The action research guidebook: A four-step process for educators and school teams. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

This book builds on the information in the Sagor (2000) book and describes a four-step process specifically designed for school teams engaging the school change and action research process.

Stenhouse, L. (1981). What counts as research? British Journal of Educational Studies, 19(2), 103–114.

An article describing research as systematic, self-critical inquiry, and validating the relevance of action research.

Stringer, E. (2003). Action research in education. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

This book is for a whole range of people who function in teaching, service, or managerial roles. It provides a set of research tools to enable them to deal effectively with problems.

Stringer, E., & Genat, W. J. (2004). Action research in health. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

This book contains a chapter with a wide range of sample action research reports, presentations, and performances. Section on working with children is helpful as is a section regarding the variety and type of questions that can be asked.

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